Had a fulfilling submission of the Torts assignment, now working frantically on the Political Science one which is due in... 48+ hours. 3000 words on a topic I've never experienced. What more a Level 2 course in it. *on a side note, Candace has just left the building, peace indeed*
True Love Waits
The reason I bring this topic is hinted in my wishlist. But to be more obvious:
Looks like the words didn't show so clear - "True Love Waits"
The meaning of the phrase refers to abstinence/purity in the sense that we keep ourselves from indulging in physical pleasures that gratify our fleshly desires when the season of our lives do not call for such gratifications.
Our sexual desires are the very reason we desire a partner of the opposite sex to love, to be loved by, to spend most of a lifetime with. It is the basis of all other 'innocent' physical desires all the way down to hand-holding. Very importantly, it is programmed into us by God to fulfill his command to 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.' - Gen1:28
Hebrews 13:4 says 'Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.' Biblically, the physcial union of man and woman is a very sacred thing that is the exclusive privilege of a complete union (legally, spiritually, socially etc) in the form of marriage. The struggle we face is in controlling this desire; though our conscience and intellect, even our mental resolve is for purity, our physical bodies somehow come in the 'back doors' and tell us otherwise. (Some say it is the voice of the Devil. Though I doubt the Devil can speak to us louder than God can, unless of course we asked to listen to him.)
Some couples take it for granted that they will be married anyway, and short-circuit the process by engaging in all forms of intimacy before they actually get married. Although they do marry later on, the beauty of the marriage is lost because a very key reward has been redeemed in advance. (Ever watched a film where the best scene was in the trailer and the film had no more impact?) The thrill and magic is lost, and there seems nothing special about getting married. The reason we guard our purity is to 'save up' the pleasure for the right time, when the Day comes that we have been pronounced 'husband and wife' and we can reap the reward of our patience and self-control.
To mellow down these warnings, I suggest that these principles apply to 'lesser forms' of intimacy. In relationships, abstaining from any intimate activity is in fact saving it up for marriage. In our modern culture and social norm, it seems acceptable to be very liberal about how far we can go before it seems 'too close'. There is a pretence, a refusal to acknowledge that the slightest form of intimacy is still intimacy. There is difficulty also in identifying levels of intimacy, because it is big, broad gray zone between strangers and lovers, and this zone can be crossed within any length of time (consider how fast a man can engage a prostitute).
Another problem is Sunday-School teaching to 'not have sex'. This is a correct statement, but it seems insufficient to simply indicate the red zone and lay it open to interpretation where the orange, yellow and white zones are (and the zones are not so clearly marked at all). The attitude should not be one of 'how far can I go before it is too far?' but rather 'how far away from danger can I stay and yet be able to express my love in a pure way?'
There is so much more to this topic; time is always a limiting factor. But if I were to sum it up, to say 'True Love Waits' is an encouragement to be patient in abstinence and the battle with desire; for there is a greater reward than previews and stolen samples.
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